Kelvin Gastelum was taken aback when Anderson Silva agreed to fight him again.
Back at UFC 212, Gastelum and Silva were set to meet. Gastelum was flagged for a potential anti-doping violation and was pulled from the card. “The Spider” then aired out his issues with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Now, the two will clash at UFC Fight Night 122 on Nov. 25. Speaking to Flo Combat, Gastelum revealed he wasn’t expecting Silva to sign on the dotted line:
“I’m honestly very surprised [Silva signed] the contract again because he was very public about saying how he wasn’t going to fight anyone coming off a loss or accept anything less than a super fight with a very popular fighter,” Gastelum said. “He was calling out Nick Diaz and things like that, so I was somewhat shocked he was willing to take the fight with me. That said, I’m super excited he did because it’s one hell of an opportunity for my career.”
He went on to reveal how he sees the fight going.
“I think this is a great matchup for me. I have power in my hands, and Silva isn’t going to have the wrestling abilities Chris Weidman had. I don’t think he’ll want to wrestle with me at all, or maybe he will. I don’t know, but I do know he lacks the wrestling pedigree to actually compete with me there. I believe he’ll want to keep the fight standing, and that gets me excited.”
